On the 4th, Pilamai and her daughter, Silla, arrived from Karachi to join the ashram in Bangalore. On the 6th, Dr. Jamshed D. Patel of Bangalore and Mr. N. Pestonji came to see Baba. In the course of conversation with them, Baba said:

"Although I am in seclusion and keep silence throughout, I am now very busy working internally for future developments. You will see the upheavals that will take place very soon. The war will take a very serious turn, bringing untold misery and ruination all around."

Pestonji interjected, "Mr. Sumner Welles [U.S. Undersecretary of State] is trying to negotiate for peace; let us hope that he will be successful."

Smiling, Baba made a play on words, "It is like digging a well in summer! [meaning something unfruitful]. Nothing will come out of it. The world will soon plunge into the throes of a war never before seen or heard of."

"But Baba, what about the thousands of lives that will be lost?" asked Pestonji. "Can't they be saved?"

"The war is necessary. All this destruction will purge the world of dirt, cleanse it of filth so that a new order can be established.

"There are millions and millions of holes in my body because of the suffering of the world. But because of my infinite bliss and power, I can withstand it.

"Suppose you have a boil on your finger which is septic. You do not cut off the whole finger because of it! You bear it because the finger is part of your body. In the same way, I consider all as mine and I suffer, but I do not destroy myself and slaughter all. I put up with it and suffer because all are a part of my Universal Body."

Patel and Pestonji became close friends of the mandali in Bangalore and would regularly visit them, even after Baba's departure.

Ghani had recently been to Poona. Three years before, a moneylender who had loaned money to Ghani had been found murdered, and Ghani became a suspect. Ghani had to forfeit his property to the family of the moneylender as repayment of the loan. But in March of 1940, the son of the moneylender unexpectedly returned most of Ghani's property to him. Ghani arrived back in Bangalore on the evening of the 6th. To celebrate the return of his property, Ghani threw a tea party in the mast ashram for everyone.

Baba told the mandali:

This is a unique occasion. Dr. Ghani, all through the 22 years he has been in my contact, used to tell me, "Prior to my spiritual benefit, do something that will benefit me materially!"